Recycling Lesson Plans and Resources

About Protecting the Earth

In this lesson, students listen to stories that illustrate the importance of protecting the earth's resources. They
then write a list of reasons why it is important to recycle, clean up litter, keep the air clean, conserve water and
trees, and protect endangered animals. Students write a letter to persuade their audience to protect the earth and
its resources, including simple ways this can be accomplished. This lesson can be adapted for any grade level
and adheres to Utah State Language Arts Standards.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstd/gradeK/Recycle_K_1.html
This curriculum includes fully developed lessons designed to meet Maryland State Social Studies Learner
Outcomes and is best suited for Pre K and Kindergarten.

http://www.42explore.com/recycle.htm
Students visit online resources to learn about different ways of reducing, reusing, and recycling. This resource
is best suited for grades 4-5.

How Long Does Trash Last? (A Cooperative Learning Activity)

Students learn how long trash lasts in landfills in a cooperative activity. They work together in groups to
formulate their best estimates of how long some trash items might last in a landfill and learn about the
environmental consequences of not recycling. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-8 and adheres to National
Fine Arts, Language Arts, Mathematics, and Technology Standards.

Junk Mail Overload!

Students track the amount of junk mail received at their homes in one week and use the collected data to
estimate how much junk mail would accumulate in a year. Then they explore ways to solve the junk mail
problem. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-12 and adheres to National Fine Arts, Language Arts,
Mathematics, Science, and Social Sciences Standards.

Catalog Necklace
Students create a practical gift item (necklace) by recycling paper material. This lesson adheres to National
Fine Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science Standards. This resource is best suited for primary
grades.

Copy-Paper Scrap Projects

Students follow directions and make envelopes and drinking cups out of copy paper with printing on one side.
They learn why recycling is important to the Earth, and about multiple uses for used copy paper. This lesson
adheres to National Fine Arts, Mathematics, and Science Standards. This resource is best for grades 3-5.

Making Recycled Paper

Students listen to the book, The Giving Tree, and identify the reasons why recycling paper is important to our
environment. They participate in making paper out of shredded newspaper and shredded used paper. This lesson
is best suited for grades PreK-5 students and adheres to Virginia State Science Standards of Learning.

Protecting Our Planet

In this lesson, students describe ways people affect the environment and how pollution harms plants and
animals. Students then demonstrate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste at school. This lesson is best suited
for grades PreK-5 and adheres to National Academy of Sciences standards.
Recycling
In this lesson, students recycle something from their homes into something usable. They write a time-order
paragraph and give an oral presentation about their project. This lesson is best suited for grades 3-5 and adheres
to Pennsylvania State Environment and Ecology Education Standards.

Recycling Starts with You

This recycling education program is designed to build language arts and math skills. It includes lesson plans,
activities, and teacher resources. Activities include using basic math skills to determine how much paper a
person can recycle in a year and writing a persuasive essay about the benefits of recycling. This resource is best
suited for grades 3-6 and adheres to National Writing, Reading, and Mathematics Standards. This resource is
from Scholastic. At first look I really liked this one.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Through learning simple facts about recycling, students recognize their own responsibilities in helping to
conserve the environment. Students learn to define recycling as the processing and treatment of discarded
materials so that they can be used again. Students also learn to sort certain recyclable products. At the end of
this lesson, students should be able to demonstrate how each of us has a responsibility to reduce the amount of
waste we produce and reuse materials whenever possible. This lesson includes suggestions for students with
special needs. It is best suited for grades PreK-1 and adheres to Illinois State English Language Arts, Science,
Social Science, and Fine Arts Standards.

The Recycle Games

Students participate in Recycle Games and get exercise while learning about the importance of recycling. This
activity adheres to National Physical Education and Health Standards. This resource is best suited for grades
PreK-5. PE teachers, this one is for you.

Waste Reduction at School

This resource provides ideas for waste reduction, as well as a plan of activities for an entire waste reduction
week, including visiting a grocery store to recognize purchasing habits regarding over-packaging, holding a tree
planting day and a garage sale, and competing to see which class can produce the least garbage. Great ideas
for schools wanting to start recycling programs!

Energy Conservation Lesson Plans and Resources

Are you an Energy Saver STAR?
Developed by the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon, Are You an Energy Saver Star? asks
students to collect data on energy usage and perform energy audits in a number of capacities. The results are
then analyzed to see where the most conservation could be achieved. Adheres to state standards in Idaho,
Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Best suited for grades 4-7.
Energy Hog
The Alliance to Save Energy’s Energy Hog program is an online computer activity that reveals "energy hogs"
in our homes that can be eliminated, thus saving energy and protecting the environment. The website also
includes the Energy Hog Challenge, a set of classroom activities that can be downloaded for free. Correlates to
National Science Education Standards as well as Colorado state standards. Appropriate for 3rd-6th grade
students. Other downloadable activities are also available by selecting Educators.
Knowledge is Power
Originally created for use in Texas, Knowledge is Power is an energy efficiency curriculum supplement for
grades PreK-8. These lesson plans on energy conservation and energy efficiency are correlated to the Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills standards and include starter activities, extensions, and discussion questions.
Check out the activities under the Students section. There are also some good resources in the Teacher section.
There are skits and songs in this one.

National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project Curricula

The NEED Project provides an extensive library of standards-based curricula for teachers of grades PreK-12.
Examples of the many resources teachers can download are: free lessons on wind energy in four levels, hands-
on solar kits, energy infobooks in four levels, energy efficiency and conservation lesson plans, curricula on
saving energy for students and families, and transportation fuels lessons. Several NEED lessons also feature
connections to language arts, geography and economics. Lessons are available for all grade levels K-12 and
adhere to National Science Education Standards. Downloadable guides are available for PreK-2 and
Elementary 3-5. Each FCPS elementary school has a NEEDS Kit with materials. Check the old Energy
Sources SCIS cart.

Additional Resources found at the following Websites

http://www.eeweek.org/resources/curricula_library.htm
This is the site that all of these links came from. There are lots more! See this site for additional lesson
plans and resources for following areas:
Air Quality, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Health,
Forests and Trees, School Gardens, Recycling, Energy and Water
http://www.epa.gov/kids/
This resource provides ideas for all areas of environmental education. There is a student section and a teacher
section. It also provides links to many other resources. This resourced best suited for grades 3-5.

http://www.eeweek.org/resources/green_reading.htm
Green reading for Kids! Make these books suggestions to your students.